Adjustable length scaffolding and method therefor

ABSTRACT

A scaffolding system for an attic area has a plurality of board members. An attachment device is provided for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member.

BACKGROUND

The present invention relates generally to a scaffolding and, more specifically, to an adjustable length scaffolding for use in an attic.

Worker safety is of great importance to both construction industry employers and employees. Worker safety is of such importance that a federal agency, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA), was created to draft, inspect, and enforcing work place safety and health regulations.

As disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,664,391, various scaffolding and safety systems have been designed. Some are engineered from the ground up while others are designed to hang off the roof or wall structure. All of these scaffold systems, however, suffer from a common defect—the enormous amount of time to assemble, erect, reposition, and take down such systems.

There are hanging scaffolds, scaffold systems that are affixed to the roof and hang over the cave to support a working platform, that have been designed to reduce the amount of labor and time necessary for scaffold assembly/disassembly. However, while saving some time, these hanging scaffolds are not without their own shortcomings.

Furthermore, many hanging scaffold systems are theoretically designed for easy pre-assembly prior to deployment, again with the objective of reducing labor costs and cutting productivity losses. Most of these hanging scaffold systems, however, are not as stable as ground based scaffold systems

Further, hanging scaffold systems require a roof anchoring point that is able to withstand thousands of pounds of force in several directions while the construction work is in progress. Typically, the roof anchor is nailed, bolted or fixedly attached to the roof to provide the necessary safety margin. However, this results in a roof anchoring system that requires additional time and effort to remove and reposition, thereby reducing the time savings associated with the hanging scaffold system.

An additional issue is that the hanging scaffold systems are only designed to hang from the exterior surface of the roof. The hanging scaffolding system was not designed for use in an attic crawl space.

Therefore, it would be desirable to provide a circuit and method that overcomes the above problems.

SUMMARY

A scaffolding system for an attic area has a plurality of board members. An attachment device is provided for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member.

A scaffolding system for an attic area has a plurality of board members. An attachment device is sued for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member. Warning markings are formed on a front surface of at least one of the plurality of board members. Rafter attachment devices are formed on a bottom surface of at least one of the plurality of board members.

A scaffolding system for an attic area has a plurality of board members. An attachment device is sued for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member. The attachment device comprises a channel formed on at least one side surface of the first board member. A groove is formed on a surface of the channel. A tab member is formed on the adjoining board member. A locking tab member extends down from the tab member for engaging the groove when the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.

The features, functions, and advantages can be achieved independently in various embodiments of the disclosure or may be combined in yet other embodiments.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Embodiments of the disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the attic scaffolding system for use in an attic of a building;

FIG. 2 is a top view of an individual board of the attic scaffolding system;

FIG. 3 is a top view of multiple boards of the attic scaffolding system;

FIG. 4 is a side view of an individual board of the attic scaffolding system;

FIG. 5 is a magnified view of one embodiment of the locking system used in the attic scaffolding system; and

FIG. 6 is a magnified view of another embodiment of the locking system used in the attic scaffolding system.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Referring now to the Figures, an attic scaffolding system 10 is shown. The system 10 is designed to be used in an attic area 12 of a house and or building. The attic area 12 may be defined as the area between the ceiling 14 and a roof section formed by trusses 16. The system 10 is designed to be positioned on existing rafters 18 in the attic area 12. The system 10 may be used to allow a person to work within the attic area 12. Presently, when working in the attic area 12, workers stand on the individual rafters 18. Alternatively, individual boards may be used to allow a person to stand in between consecutive rafters 18. However, the individual board needs to be lifted and moved every time the worker moves.

The system 10 is designed to quickly and easily attach and lock multiple planks 20 together. This allows for a removable floor to be formed on the rafters 18. As stated above, the system 10 is formed of a plurality of plank members 20. Each plank member 20, and thus the system 10, is of a size to allow the plank members 20 to be carried through an attic opening 11. The plank members 20 may be formed of an electrically non-conductive material.

As shown in FIG. 2, a top surface 20A of the plank member 20 may have markings 22. The markings 22 may be formed around one or more edges on the top surface of the plank member 20. The markings 22 may be used as a warning indictor to let a person know that they are near the edge of the plank member 20. The marking 22 may be a red strip, a fluorescent yellow/green strip, a grip strip, or the like. The above listing is given an example and should not be seen in a limiting manner.

Located on a bottom surface 20C of the plank member 20 may be a latching device 40. The latching device 40 may be used to secure the plank member to a rafter 18. The latching device 40 may be used to prevent the plank member 20 from moving/sliding when positioned on a rafter 18. The latching device 40 may be a hook or the like.

Located on one or more side surfaces 20B of each plank member 20 may be an attachment mechanism 24. The attachment mechanism 24 may be used to attach one or more additional plank members 20 to an existing plank member 20. The attachment mechanism 24 may be form as part of the plank member 20. Alternatively, the attachment mechanism 24 may be a separate device.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, one embodiment of the attachment mechanism 24 may be seen. In this embodiment, the plank member 20 may have one or more sides where a channel 26 may be formed. The channel 26 may be formed along one or more side surfaces 20B of the plank member 20. The channel 26 may be formed along a central area of the side surface 20B. The channel 26 may run a length of the side surface 20B.

Located in the channel 26 is a groove 28. The groove 28 is formed along a surface 26B on the channel 26. The groove 28 may run the length of the channel 26.

The plank member 20 may have one or more sides where a tab 30 may be formed. The tab 30 may be formed along one or more side surfaces 20B of the plank member 20. The tab 30 may be formed along a central area of the side surface 20B. The tab 30 may run a majority of the length of the side surface 20B.

The tab 30 may have a locking member 32 which extends from the tab 30. The locking member 32 may be a locking tab 32A which extends down from tab 30. In operation, the tab 30 of one plank member 20 may be inserted into the channel 26 of a corresponding plank member 20. The locking tab 32B may be slide into the channel 28 thereby forming a snap lock connection. By lifting the plank member 30, the locking tab 32B may be slide out of the channel 28 thereby unlocking the plank member 30 from the corresponding plank member 20.

Referring to FIG. 6, another attachment mechanism 24′ may be seen. In this embodiment, the attachment mechanism 24′ may be an “I” beam 34. The “I” beam 34 has a pair of “I” beam channels 36. Located in at least one “I” beam channel 36 is a locking tab 32A′. In this embodiment, the plank member 20 may be a standard board 20′. The board 20′ having a notch 38 formed on at least one side surface. The notch 38 may run a length of the at least one side surface.

In operation, the board 20′ may be inserted into the “I” beam channel 36. The locking tab 32A′ may be slide into the notch 38 of the board 20′ thereby forming a snap lock connection. By lifting the board 20′, the locking tab 32A′ may be slide out of the notch 38 thereby unlocking the board 20′ from the attachment mechanism 24′.

While embodiments of the disclosure have been described in terms of various specific embodiments, those skilled in the art will recognize that the embodiments of the disclosure can be practiced with modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A scaffolding system for an attic area comprising: a plurality of board members; and an attachment device for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member.
 2. The scaffolding system of claim 1, further comprising warning markings formed on a front surface of at least one of the plurality of board members.
 3. The scaffolding system of claim 1, further comprising rafter attachment devices formed on a bottom surface of at least one of the plurality of board members.
 4. The scaffolding system of claim 1, wherein the attachment device comprises: a channel formed on at least one side surface of the first board member; and a tab member formed on the adjoining board member, wherein the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 5. The scaffolding system of claim 4, wherein the attachment device further comprises: a groove formed on a surface of the channel; and a locking tab member extending down from the tab member for engaging the groove when the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 6. The scaffolding system of claim 1, wherein the attachment device comprises: an “I” beam connector having “I” beam channels formed therein; wherein the first board member and the adjoining board member are inserted into the “I” beam channels to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 7. The scaffolding system of claim 6, wherein the attachment device further comprises: a groove formed on a surface of the first board member and the adjoining board member; and a locking tab member formed in the “I” beam channels for engaging the groove when the first board member and the adjoining board member are inserted into the “I” beam channels.
 8. A scaffolding system for an attic area comprising: a plurality of board members; an attachment device for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member; warning markings formed on a front surface of at least one of the plurality of board members; and rafter attachment devices formed on a bottom surface of at least one of the plurality of board members.
 9. The scaffolding system of claim 8, wherein the attachment device comprises: a channel formed on at least one side surface of the first board member; and a tab member formed on the adjoining board member, wherein the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 10. The scaffolding system of claim 9, wherein the attachment device further comprises: a groove formed on a surface of the channel; and a locking tab member extending down from the tab member for engaging the groove when the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 11. The scaffolding system of claim 8, wherein the attachment device comprises: an “I” beam connector having “I” beam channels formed therein; wherein the first board member and the adjoining board member are inserted into the “I” beam channels to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 12. The scaffolding system of claim 11, wherein the attachment device further comprises: a groove formed on a surface of the first board member and the adjoining board member; and a locking tab member formed in the “I” beam channels for engaging the groove when the first board member and the adjoining board member are inserted into the “I” beam channels.
 13. A scaffolding system for an attic area comprising: a plurality of board members; and an attachment device for securing a first board member to an adjoining board member; wherein the attachment device comprises: a channel formed on at least one side surface of the first board member; a groove formed on a surface of the channel; a tab member formed on the adjoining board member; and a locking tab member extending down from the tab member for engaging the groove when the tab member is inserted into the channel to secure the first board member to the adjoining board member.
 14. The scaffolding system of claim 13, further comprising warning markings formed on a front surface of at least one of the plurality of board members.
 15. The scaffolding system of claim 13, further comprising rafter attachment devices formed on a bottom surface of at least one of the plurality of board members. 